Nibs That Fit Sheaffer No-Nonsense

[mab52]

I'd like to be able to replace some standard No-Nonsense nibs with other kinds and/or brands of nibs. Can anyone give me a supplier source of nibs that I can screw into some of my pens. I've got all the calligraphy ones, so those aren't needed.

[johnmc2]

I don't know about the details, but I was looking for nibs on eBay the other day and noticed this

[mab52]

Saw that, trying to determine who sells nibs I can do that with on my own.

[kidde]

My guess is that it is a #5, so I'd start there. I've read many reviews that claim it is really difficult to pull the nib and feed from the NN section without ruining something. Also claims that in India the NN feeds are used extensively to help cure flow problems, no mention as to what happens with the nib and section. If you find out how to swap the nib please post. I'm very interested in using something other than the italic nib in mine.

 

Paul

[mab52]

It's fairly easy to grind No-Nonsense italic nibs to a stub/ci and such, but I'd like to be able to screw regular nibs in too. Maybe Ron Z could shed some light on this.

[Ron Z]

The Sheaffer Balance II and Connaisseur writing units as Sheaffer called a nib assembly, will screw into the No Nonsense barrel. Sheaffer also sold gold plated NN nib assemblies that are pretty decent.

 

As for nib size, there are a lot of factors to consider. Not only the physical length of the nib, but the radius of the nib (and feed), as well as the thickness of the nib. You can't put a gold Balance nib in a NN section. Though the feed is the same, because the steel (or gold plated) nib is thicker, the ID of the section is slightly larger. You could fit a gold plated Prelude nib into a NN section though, and have a decent nib.

 

You'll need to experiment a bit if you want to use other brands. Be forewarned though that a Sheaffer NN/Balance/Connaisseur/Prelude nib and feed can be a very tight fit in the section, and needs to be coaxed out, not yanked. Too aggressive and the feed can snap.

Edited April 14, 2014 by Ron Z

[mab52]

Thanks Ron. Some things are best left to the experts and this might be one of them.

[kidde]

This has had me thinking, and I found an old NN calligraphy set in storage (left by the previous owner). All three nibs were clogged with ink so I soaked them for days. I took the B nib and started pulling and wiggling and it literally popped out! No sign of loosening until apart. The feed is a two piece affair, with a thin center part that stops short of the tip.

So it can be done, I pulled straight with a slight amount of side to side and no twisting.

Mine is a #5 size nib that is .38mm thick. I'm going to cut down a Government of Canada No.40 dip nib since I'm in this far. Wish me luck.

 

Paul

[Ron Z]

It can be done - but read the last paragraph of my post again. You got it out because it was coaxed out. Brute force will break the feed. Trust me, I've done a lot of them.

 

An added note - the early NN nib units had a hard rubber feed. They're a different size than the later plastic ones like yours, and are not interchangeable.

[mab52]

For the time being I sprang for a used NN with a regular medium nib and one of those NOS offered with the German stub. NNs are good workhorses most of which I have on a worn shoestring budget so this little splurge is fine.

 

One thing I'd still like to do is cobble some inserts for the caps with nib ID's . I've got six different Sheaffer factory calligraphy nibs as well as some homemade grinds.

[mab52]

Just an update, I got one of those German stub nibbed NNs today, and it was fine once the ink began to flow. I smoothed it just a bit and it's excellent. I still can't tell who made the nib, but it shows a lion logo image. I'd buy one again, it's really good.

[mke]

A video:

[TorPelikan]

Oh! The man in the video finally set the small collector part of the feed upside down!

It's not in the center so he couldn't complete the reassembly job.

 

You had better record the process of disassembly.

Detailed sketches will be helpful.

 

If you feel difficulty in reassembling, look for the reason before you use force.

Excessive force left me broken pens and regrets.

[ink-syringe]

I have a Ford Shelby, can I swap in an engine from a Yugo?

smh